A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to condition domestic violence grants on the organizations’ promotion of gender ideology, elective abortions, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
In her Oct. 10 order, U.S. District of Rhode Island Judge Melissa DuBose said the administration’s conditions likely violated the Constitution, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act’s bar on arbitrary and capricious action.
The administration, she said, failed to articulate a satisfactory explanation for its new conditions and didn’t consider the harm their decision would have on the organizations and the populations they serve.
Dubose also said that the conditions were vague enough that they likely violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. “The phrases ‘promote gender ideology’ and ‘promote elective abortion’ obscure meaning like Russian dolls stacked inside each other,” Dubose wrote….